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Gimbarish
Gimbarish, known in ancient times as Redjetesh, is a nation located at the centre-north of the continent of Palkyras. It is surrounded by Sulgobur and Arvora to the northwest; the Tornarin Empire to the west; Bivos to the southwest; Vozolaz to the south; Iral, Iruwasa, and Siangwaan to the southeast; the Dunomin Ocean to the east; Uvjora and Heronoja to the northeast; and Paltirion with its many neighbouring republics to the north. Its capital is the dusty metropolis of Gimbarish City, which is located at its southern parts along the Iaro River (Baval Olhi in Vozolaz). Flag The National Flag of Gimbarish is a green rectangular banner with a yellow emblem in the middle, the Deẃ Jatin (Rē), which means "Hands of God (of the Bright Sun)". The green background symbolises life, and the religious-cultural emblem symbolises God having the endless power ("nine symbolises endlessness", c.f. Nordic and Daizhouvian culture) to maintain, oversee, and bless all of His creations, or His eternal protection over life itself. History From the Kingdom of Rai and its division into two successors in the Second Age, to Redjetesh of the Sixteenth Age and its successors to the Sarmelonid era and beyond, the peoples who lived to the north of the Gauvajut lands had built and sustained one of the oldest civilisations on Jerde. They endured through many prosperous ages, catastrophes, and conquests, creating a long (though somewhat fragmented) history that tells of their survival and resilience. Their Battle of Kedesha against the unstable Gauvajut dynasties and their victory characterised the Fifteenth Age, and as a powerful nation during the Sixteenth Age their taxes towards any Eastern ship that visited its harbours sparked rivalries between it and the nations of the East. At some time after the Kyrvotin Invasion and before the Cyan Senate-Vozonid War, the Gimbarsian civilisation got its current name under the rule of Pharaoh (Emperor) Watarnge, who built a garden-pyramid as his laboratory-fortress where its history is being preserved for extensive study. Later, its signature monotheist religion was founded by another pharaoh, Akhenaten, who claimed that the God of the Sun revealed His divine message to him, and his religion supplanted Gimbarish's native deities and endured through the millenia. Even then, the religion became more centralised to its current monotheist form, with the pharaoh losing his divine authority so only Jatin is to be worshipped, and idols of any form to be totally disallowed in ceremonies to Him (though He is represented with a solar disk with arms, like in this flag). In this era, Gimbarish faced the ruin of the Tornarin conquest and lost much of its technology during the Second Kyrvotin Invasion like its neighbours. Then after rebuilding itself, it was conquered again by the Thralondians of the east, who forced its pharaoh-emperor to reduce much of his regalia to simple white robes and a turban. The remaining members of the old Gimbarsian state occupied the Vozonid province of Gornystar, where they formed an army out of runaway slaves in defiance against the Thralondian oppressors. Gimbarish sometimes gained brief periods of independence by knighthoods of guerrilla crusaders that fought their Thralondian rulers in the name of their God and their people, until the later emperors joined their cause to celebrate the collapse of their oppressors after the ruinous Wraithstorm. At the same time, rebellions that broke out against nearby tyrants secretly used the Armed Sun of Jatin as their emblem, aided by the Gornystaris and the restored Gimbarsian government's forces. Even then, the last Gimbarsian emperor, Agarenau, was overthrown in a revolution by the general Hunumash, as the latter sought to rapidly modernise Gimbarish to prepare it for war against its surrounding enemies. Meanwhile, Agarenau's grand vizier Pashnaweti went into Mirukuz. Although he intended to free several hostages from being executed, he and his followers helped a slave revolt escort its people into nearby Bīvos, where they are hailed as heroes. Hunumash's plans did help Gimbarish fend off the incursions of the Tornarin Empire in the west and the Trimallean government of Azgo to the south, until the collapse of the latter when Gimbarish offered to help the Azgovians rebuild their economy. Gimbarish weathered more assaults from the Second Wraithstorm, the Abductor aliens, and the Wannaenid conquest of northern Azgo, causing its border and its buffer state of Gornystar to be fortified against those newer threats. Alternate timelines In one alternate timeline, Hunumuash was killed by a Wannaenid bombing during his siege of Gimbarish City, while the Imperial Household, Pashnaweti, and his family were protected by the Vasannor (a team of superheroes from a Wannae-ruled 23rd century). Without their rebellion and stunned by the sudden arrival of Wannaenid aircraft over their domain, Hunumash's forces surrender and Gimbarish remains a monarchy, its armies retaining many troops that would had been lost to civil war. Agarenau, keeping his royal title, orders Pashnaweti to lead an army to rescue his country's hostages, using a local slave rebellion to help them weaken their hated Mirkuzian crime cartels. Geography Gimbarish occupies a large sand desert located at the centre of the continent. To its west lie dozens of mountain ranges that extend southward, where lush forests descend to the arid lowlands as they follow the eastward streams; and a series of cool, forested mountains to the east complete their resulting rain shadow, while also having their share of tributaries that feed the central Iaro River. While the wetlands along the Iaro River provide fertile soil for much of Gimbarish's crops, people also grow crops along the western hills. Beyond the eastern ranges, the lands along Gimbarish's seacoast enjoy a cool, breezy temperate climate. Politics Gimbarish is a republic, headed by a President and a Vice President. Military Gimbarish is protected by its Republican Guard, which amasses an armoury of flying vehicles to quickly navigate across the desert. Currently, the Gimbarsian government is developing its own advanced machinery, using technology gathered from the Green Pyramid, foreign imports, or a combination of both. Economy Gimbarish is a developing country, and its economy consisted mostly of mining, agriculture (especially in wheat, barley, and wool), fishing, and forging glass from the sands of its desert. Its currency is the dabin, and each dabin is made of 100 qedat. Culture Soccer, sand hockey, dunesurfing, and racing are popular sports in Gimbarish. Gimbarsian people are noted for their penchant for coffee, reading newspapers, and their love of crossword puzzles. Many Gimbarsians are amused by foreign depictions of their country as "overridden with mummies and the undead". They answer these with parodic works that have said mummies and zombies being cursed corpses that can be defeated by strong faith in Aten or bullets doused with antibiotics, or as ravenous victims infected and driven by a severe disease that need to be burned and crushed. Cats are very popular animals in Gimbarish, and they are given a lot of respect. That tradition dates back to the country's ancient history, when they even venerated a cat as a goddess. Religion Gimbarish is notable for its monotheist religion, which was founded thousands of years ago by the charismatic emperor Akhenaten; it is therefore one of a handful of monotheist nations in a polytheist world, alongside its neighbour and ally Bivos, and the distant realms of Kalambour, Zarijana, and the Greyfolk nation of Qogandra. It is centred around the compassionate solar deity Aten (also known as "Jatin"), whom His worshippers believe to be the sole existing God, and the creator and ruler of all existence. Although Aten is commonly depicted either as a disk with arms, or sometimes as endless light, Gimbarsians never use images to worship Him, as it is considered it to be worshipping the image instead of God. Aten is usually worshipped with prayers, hymns, and offerings of incense. Historically, Gimbarsians used to worship the emperor Akhenaten as a representative of their God, and they used to practice superstitions such as being afraid of the night. As later worshippers focused more on the infinity of Aten, they no longer feared nighttime (but embraced it as "one of Aten's best creations", like outer space, the stars, and the Moon) and they no longer worshipped their emperors. However, they sometimes swear to Me'e(t), a former goddess that now symbolises righteousness and Aten's laws over all of Creation. The souls of believers were said to go to the City of Light with Aten after death. Unbelievers' souls were said to wander endlessly in "the void between Creation", while evildoers were said to be consumed by Chaos. Unlike most people on Jerde who practice cremation, Gimbarsian Atenists prefer to bury their dead, only cremating whenever there is a plague or there is not enough land to mark graves. Religious fanaticism, extremism, racism, vulgarity, mob violence, brawling (although in television and video games it is allowed), and sexism are rejected among Atenists, as those go against their belief in "doing no harm" and "ensuring justice and honour". The resulting attitude made those same believers to become more disciplined, rational, and merciful to anyone of any race -- even towards non-humans such as the despised Ontemazei and hybrids -- but merciless towards foes that were considered as "cruel" or "warmongers", such as the armies and rulers of the Thralondian Empire, and the raiders of Mirukuz. Many Gimbarsians also refuse alcohol for its ability to misdirect its drinkers' minds, smoking for harming the lungs, and pork out of their cultural traditions; although those three are not necessarily forbidden in their religion. Freedom of religion is a protected right in Gimbarish's constitution, and atheists are tolerated in its society. Trivia * Gimbarish was inspired largely by ancient Egypt, and modern Egypt during the 1890s (such as during the setting of the 1999 film The Mummy) to the 1950s. It was also based on two alternate-history scenarios: "What if ancient Egypt survived into the Renaissance?", and "What if Atenism survived?" ** The depiction of "Atenism" in the Rabydosverse is based on the teachings of "Orthodox Atenism" and Christianity: it is considered as an equivalent of Christianity for its monotheism (like Zoroastrianism), conversion of willing outsiders, and its focus on benevolence and love. In fact, this comparison also resulted in "Aten's Crusaders", knights on bikes and skimmers that guarded Gimbarish's remnants until the defeat and expulsion of its Thralondian governor. * Gimbarish was one of the author's earliest ideas for the Rabydosverse during its early years (late 2015), to poke fun at the fanmade video series Pooh's Adventures. In the earlier drafts, "Gimbarish" was a fictional mountain in Egypt where time-travellers in a train battled bandits riding on horses. ** "Gimbarish" was based on the words "Jebel" (Arabic for "mountain"), the word "gibberish", and the Black Speech term "gimbatul" (meaning "find them"). Category:Peculiar Rabydosverse nations Category:Countries Category:Republics Category:Early Rabydosverse ideas Category:The Free World